The topic I chose for this assignment was last week’s testimony by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. The “in-print” article was pulled from The Buffalo News (business section) and was entitled “Greenspan rejects blame for economic crisis.” My on-line article was from CEP News The Real-Time Source for Global Economic & Market News (a Canadian website) and was entitled “Midday News Recap: U.S. Jobless Claims Rise, Greenspan Testifies.”
My preference is to read the printed versions of articles. I can usually access the same articles both “in-print” and on the web. You might wonder what kind of an idiot wastes time looking at both. Frankly, reading from a computer screen hurts my eyes. To read news stories from my Blackberry or phone is like reading the fine print on a contract. One benefit to “in-print” publications (newspapers, weekly journals) is that they can be quickly tucked away in my purse or briefcase; not so easily done with a laptop. I will say however, that the benefits of on-line articles far outweigh those of “in-print.” I can see why some people prefer them; there are places to go and people to see!
The article from The Buffalo News provided me with the same basic information and quotes as the on-line article. (The article from The Buffalo News was also available in their website.) It included a picture of former chairman Greenspan testifying. Unfortunately, it began on one page (D6) but finished on another (D7) so I had to flip and fold the page then search for the headline in order to finish reading it. There were no additional references on Greenspan, the FDIC or the Treasury where I could learn more about the testimony nor were there references to other articles. The article provided basic “highlight” information.
The article from CEP News offered much more. In addition to some common quotes such as the "once-in-a century credit tsunami", there was some additional basic economic information. The Buffalo News article was more critical of Greenspan and focused on his comments and accountability; the CEP News article was more informational and included many statistics.
The on-line story provided a way to print, e-mail or submit the story to several social networking sites (reddit, Digg, del.icio.us, newsvine). It also offered a section where you could review “Recent Related Stores” such as “U.S. Consumer Confidence Plummets to All-Time Low in October”
In addition, one of the benefits to on-line reading is its search capability. You can use CTRL and “F” key to open a quick search. That means if you wanted to find a certain quote or name, it could be easily done.
Here is what I do to combine the benefits of both. I set up news alerts via websites like Google and Bizjournals (they offer weekly publications in Buffalo, Rochester and Albany) for topics and names that interest me the most. I get news highlights from these sites that I can review quickly. They lead me to the full story should I choose to read it. If I am short of time, I print out the article and take it with me.
Usually, in addition to references, on-line articles usually offer hyperlinks that you can click on to learn more about the topic or person the article was written about. This one did not.
Citations
1. Crutsinger M., Gordon M., October, 24, 2008, “Greenspan rejects blame for economic crisis,” The Buffalo News, Business Today, D6
2. Huebl S., October, 23, 2008, “Midday News Recap: U.S. Jobless Claims Rise, Greenspan Testifies”, CEP News The Real-Time Source for Global Economic & Market News, http://www.economicnews.ca/cepnews/wire/article/single/144442/
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Technology is changing our world. The internet in particular is a major contributor. Because of this year’s unprecedented election, politics have become popular and hip. A record number of people followed the primary election this year. This year’s election is expected to draw a record number of voters. (To all you new voters, watch out! You can expect your summons for jury duty in a year or two.)
Blogs are a major part of social networking. People who write blogs are usually people who have something to say. Because it is a hot topic right now, it is easy to find bloggers discussing politics. In my humble opinion, if you are in politics or business and you don’t have a blog, you are seriously missing the boat. Blogs are not just for the young. You can learn a lot from these bloggers.
A candidate who does not have a blog misses the opportunity to get candid feedback. The candidate should also have someone reading blogs written about them. This enables the candidate to get the word on the street. The candidate can take these words to heart and fix or tweak what could turn out to be a significant weak spot in their campaign.
Here is the required blog information:
· Title - BuffaloPundit
· URL - http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/7031
· Name/Occupation: Alan Bedenko, Buffalo attorney
· Date of birth: September 2003
· Technorati ranking: is 107,824
The tone of this blog is pretty strong, although the author makes it clear that the blog is purely his opinion and that he is not afraid to speak his mind. He notes in his FAQ “you’ve got a big mouth” and “Nothing I write here or anywhere else under the BuffaloPundit handle is attributable to anyone except myself.” (Bedenko, 2003) I think however, that his comments are well thought out and do try and tackle both sides of the fence. Here is one of his direct comments about himself.
“The beauty of the way that I run my site is that I am completely unbeholden to anyone. I have no financial or political stake in the outcome of any election - local or otherwise. Although I am an unrepentant Democratic partisan, I have given Republicans credit when it’s due, I have supported Republican candidates, and I have criticized Democrats when I thought it necessary. Am I a loyal Democrat? I like to think so. But I don’t unthinkingly go along with candidates just because of the “D” at the end of their names.” (Bedenko, 2008)
He is quite self-assured. I do respect his writing although I don’t always agree.
I think I will probably lose a point on this blog because I don’t really have a solid argument about the effect of blogs on Buffalo. However, I can say that I was surprised that they were a bit difficult to find. Most of the blogs that I found were based on the election and came from a bigger fish (non-local.) I am not sure if I am just not that great at searching or if there just aren’t that many people who blog about politics in Buffalo. I have a good friend (yes, I have friends) who is fiercely passionate about policy and politics, has only one entry on her blog about politics and her support for Obama. Does that mean that Buffalonians are more “talkcentric” than “blogcentric”?
Citations:
1. Bedenko, September, 2003, http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/the-buffalo-pundit-faq-10)
2. Bedenko, October 24, 2008, http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/date/2008/10
Blogs are a major part of social networking. People who write blogs are usually people who have something to say. Because it is a hot topic right now, it is easy to find bloggers discussing politics. In my humble opinion, if you are in politics or business and you don’t have a blog, you are seriously missing the boat. Blogs are not just for the young. You can learn a lot from these bloggers.
A candidate who does not have a blog misses the opportunity to get candid feedback. The candidate should also have someone reading blogs written about them. This enables the candidate to get the word on the street. The candidate can take these words to heart and fix or tweak what could turn out to be a significant weak spot in their campaign.
Here is the required blog information:
· Title - BuffaloPundit
· URL - http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/7031
· Name/Occupation: Alan Bedenko, Buffalo attorney
· Date of birth: September 2003
· Technorati ranking: is 107,824
The tone of this blog is pretty strong, although the author makes it clear that the blog is purely his opinion and that he is not afraid to speak his mind. He notes in his FAQ “you’ve got a big mouth” and “Nothing I write here or anywhere else under the BuffaloPundit handle is attributable to anyone except myself.” (Bedenko, 2003) I think however, that his comments are well thought out and do try and tackle both sides of the fence. Here is one of his direct comments about himself.
“The beauty of the way that I run my site is that I am completely unbeholden to anyone. I have no financial or political stake in the outcome of any election - local or otherwise. Although I am an unrepentant Democratic partisan, I have given Republicans credit when it’s due, I have supported Republican candidates, and I have criticized Democrats when I thought it necessary. Am I a loyal Democrat? I like to think so. But I don’t unthinkingly go along with candidates just because of the “D” at the end of their names.” (Bedenko, 2008)
He is quite self-assured. I do respect his writing although I don’t always agree.
I think I will probably lose a point on this blog because I don’t really have a solid argument about the effect of blogs on Buffalo. However, I can say that I was surprised that they were a bit difficult to find. Most of the blogs that I found were based on the election and came from a bigger fish (non-local.) I am not sure if I am just not that great at searching or if there just aren’t that many people who blog about politics in Buffalo. I have a good friend (yes, I have friends) who is fiercely passionate about policy and politics, has only one entry on her blog about politics and her support for Obama. Does that mean that Buffalonians are more “talkcentric” than “blogcentric”?
Citations:
1. Bedenko, September, 2003, http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/the-buffalo-pundit-faq-10)
2. Bedenko, October 24, 2008, http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/date/2008/10
Friday, October 3, 2008
Imposters & Death
Instant messenger (IM http://www.aol.com/) services allow me to connect quickly and easily to my friends and family. At work, I use a similar program called “Sametime” to connect me with my coworkers. Sametime is associated with our LotusNotes accounts and is restricted to users within our organization’s intranet. That means at work, I can only talk to those I work with (providing they also have access to Sametime on their computer.)
I have a son who attends college in Vermont. It can be costly to talk to him on the phone and texting is way too tedious for long conversations. I use the IM to chat with him if he happens to be on-line.
At work, on “Sametime” my name onscreen is my actual name. When using Sametime, it is important for me to be professional. Reputation is clearly at stake. Outside of work on IM, I use a specific “handle” so that I am anonymous to everyone but my chosen friends & family. If someone got wind of or was able to figure out my password, they could easily assume my identity. To make matters worse, they could sign on and change my password. This happened to my son when he was in high school. A few of his friends said he was on-line during school hours when he lacked access to a computer. He investigated and decided that someone must have figured out his password. We deleted his account. Fortunately for him, the imposter did not change his password which could have made things much worse. Here, his reputation could easily have been damaged.
My daughter had a similar but much more serious situation. She frequently used IM to chat with her friends. When she and her friends visit each other, they frequently go on-line and chat. One night, when she was home she discovered that someone else was using her IM account. She found this out because she was chatting with herself. The imposter would type in a sentence and she would respond with “who is this?” and see her chat trail in one font and color and the imposter’s chat trail in different font and color. Both chat trails displayed her username (handle.)
She immediately asked who it was. The conversation soon escalated to one of a sexual nature including solicitations and strong words. We advised the imposter that we were reporting them to AOL. We immediately reported the incident to AOL who investigated but never discovered who it was. The account was closed immediately. It was terrifying but she was convinced that it was one of her friends who thought they were being funny. She had shared her password with several of her friends (who all denied involvement.) Both my son’s and my daughter’s reputations were at stake. Further, the imposter could have conducted criminal activity.
Both of my children thought nothing of sharing their password with friends. Perhaps it was not a friend that was on at all. Kids can be very careless with their security. I don’t think they realize how serious these breaches are.
I will share another story with you. A friend of mine got into trouble when he misrepresented himself to someone he thought was an eighteen year-old woman. He had shaved off twenty-five years and re-joined the Marines (for his alter-ego.) He had begun chatting with this woman and they soon developed a romantic on-line relationship. Unknown to him, the woman was actually in her forties and was misrepresenting herself by using a pseudonym; her very own eighteen year-old daughter. He soon discovered that a coworker was also having an on-line affair with the same woman. Things escalated between the two men and one ended up dead. This man went to prison. He risked his reputation and lost big. The woman not only risked her own, but also her daughter’s reputation. Identity and reputation need to be taken seriously. Be careful of how you represent yourself.
I have a son who attends college in Vermont. It can be costly to talk to him on the phone and texting is way too tedious for long conversations. I use the IM to chat with him if he happens to be on-line.
At work, on “Sametime” my name onscreen is my actual name. When using Sametime, it is important for me to be professional. Reputation is clearly at stake. Outside of work on IM, I use a specific “handle” so that I am anonymous to everyone but my chosen friends & family. If someone got wind of or was able to figure out my password, they could easily assume my identity. To make matters worse, they could sign on and change my password. This happened to my son when he was in high school. A few of his friends said he was on-line during school hours when he lacked access to a computer. He investigated and decided that someone must have figured out his password. We deleted his account. Fortunately for him, the imposter did not change his password which could have made things much worse. Here, his reputation could easily have been damaged.
My daughter had a similar but much more serious situation. She frequently used IM to chat with her friends. When she and her friends visit each other, they frequently go on-line and chat. One night, when she was home she discovered that someone else was using her IM account. She found this out because she was chatting with herself. The imposter would type in a sentence and she would respond with “who is this?” and see her chat trail in one font and color and the imposter’s chat trail in different font and color. Both chat trails displayed her username (handle.)
She immediately asked who it was. The conversation soon escalated to one of a sexual nature including solicitations and strong words. We advised the imposter that we were reporting them to AOL. We immediately reported the incident to AOL who investigated but never discovered who it was. The account was closed immediately. It was terrifying but she was convinced that it was one of her friends who thought they were being funny. She had shared her password with several of her friends (who all denied involvement.) Both my son’s and my daughter’s reputations were at stake. Further, the imposter could have conducted criminal activity.
Both of my children thought nothing of sharing their password with friends. Perhaps it was not a friend that was on at all. Kids can be very careless with their security. I don’t think they realize how serious these breaches are.
I will share another story with you. A friend of mine got into trouble when he misrepresented himself to someone he thought was an eighteen year-old woman. He had shaved off twenty-five years and re-joined the Marines (for his alter-ego.) He had begun chatting with this woman and they soon developed a romantic on-line relationship. Unknown to him, the woman was actually in her forties and was misrepresenting herself by using a pseudonym; her very own eighteen year-old daughter. He soon discovered that a coworker was also having an on-line affair with the same woman. Things escalated between the two men and one ended up dead. This man went to prison. He risked his reputation and lost big. The woman not only risked her own, but also her daughter’s reputation. Identity and reputation need to be taken seriously. Be careful of how you represent yourself.
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